


A Boyfriend for Christmas

by NaughtyNeganJDM



Category: The Good Wife (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, F/M, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-20 06:04:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13140615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NaughtyNeganJDM/pseuds/NaughtyNeganJDM
Summary: Jason is one of Jen's close friends and when she is going to be headed back to be with her family for Christmas, her fears of being single and getting hassled by her family overtake her. Jason offers up to be her date and suggests that they lie and say he is her boyfriend. Their friendship progresses and eventually, leads to more.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jasoncrouse (jacksonmaine)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jacksonmaine/gifts).



> This was a request that my very dear friend had for me and this a Christmas present made specifically for her <3 Thanks girl for always being one of the best friends out there! This will be in two parts and I will put the other part up later!

A shivering chill ran down Jen’s spine as she stepped into the diner that she had planned to meet up with her friend Jason at. It was a few days away from Christmas and while she truly loved the spirit of Christmas, she hated the weather that came with it. It was beautiful to her as long as she wasn’t outside having to deal with it. There was a burning sensation that pressed in over her cheeks from the cool wind that she had to face while walking here today. Pulling her jacket in closer to her body, she looked around the small diner and couldn’t help, but smile when she saw the handsome smile of a familiar face not far off in the distance.

“There you are,” Jason boasted with a bright smile as she made her way over toward the table he was sitting at. Jason stood from the booth, adjusted his thick black framed glasses and stepped forward to wrap his arms around her tightly. Truth be told, Jen lived for the hugs that Jason handed out. She knew they were just friends, but Jason gave out the best hugs. He was always so warm and friendly. His hugs mirrored that with how big and long his hugs were. When Jason pulled away, she looked up at him as he towered over her. The smile that pressed in over his lips was enough to warm her right up as his large dimples sucked in. “I thought you were going to skip out on our lunch together.”

“I would never skip out on anything with you. It’s just freezing and it makes me move slower,” she informed him, still holding her jacket close to her body. Jason reached out to caress over her shoulders before nodding toward the table.

“How about we get you a hot chocolate then so we can warm you up?” Jason suggested and a bright smile pressed in over her features. Following Jason to the table, she still kept her jacket on and she could see Jason staring out at her with a big, goofy smile. Jen’s brow arched in interest; what was so funny? “Are you doing your best impression of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer?”

“Oh, shut up!” she laughed out, reaching across the table to softly shove into his shoulder. “I can’t help that I get as cold I as I do. I’m much smaller than you and I had to walk quite a ways to get here from work.”

“Uh huh,” Jason snickered, his tongue sliding out over his bottom lip before he reached for his coffee. “Are you having Christmas with the family again this year?”

“Oh yeah, I can’t wait for that. I leave in two days. I’m super excited for my parents, sister and cousins to tell me what a loser I am,” Jen answered, her hazel eyes looking to Jason as she noticed the waitress approaching. Jason ordered her a hot chocolate before she could speak and she smiled. She knew that she could have ordered it herself, but it was Jason’s attempt at being sweet. “You’d think they would be proud of someone making a name for themselves and being successful, but apparently they think that if you aren’t married with children by this time in your life that you are a total loser.”

“Well, I’m not married and I don’t have children…and I’m also older than you so I guess we can be big losers together,” Jason winked and took another sip of his coffee. Jen watched him closely and shifted uneasily in her chair. “What?”

“Are you spending the holidays with Alicia?” Jen mentioned and she watched Jason’s expression change. Jason shifted on the seat when he set the coffee cup back down on the table. “I’m sorry, did I say something wrong?”

“That…that’s not really a thing for me right now. We kind of broke things off. Her husband was just…” Jason began, clearing his throat as he spoke. Jason’s gorgeous eyes shifted as he tried to think of what to tell her. “It was a hard relationship. I was putting my everything into it and she was…still caught in the past. It was for the best that things ended, I was getting pulled along and it…never felt fair.” 

“I’m very sorry to hear that,” Jen frowned, reaching out to press her hand in over Jason’s. She squeezed it firmly and felt his fingertips wrapping around hers. A sad smile pressed in over his lips and she knew that it clearly still upset talking to him about it. She wanted to learn more. Like when it happened, how it happened, but she wasn’t about to dig the knife in any deeper. “If you need to talk, I’m always here for you.”

“Thanks…” Jason winked, his hands slightly pulling away from hers when the waitress returned with her hot chocolate. Jason sighed and there was a silence that pressed between the two of them. It was a bit uncomfortable and it was obvious. Jason cleared his throat and circled his fingertip over the top of the coffee cup.

“So are you going to be alone on Christmas then?” Jen whispered and Jason looked up to her. His dimples sucked in and he nodded, a small sigh falling from his lips. “If I could, I would ditch the family just to be with you. No one should be alone on Christmas.”

“Did you tell them you were coming alone?” Jason’s eyebrow arched and she shook her head when he asked. “Well, I have an idea then. How about instead of me spending Christmas alone, I come with you to your family’s place and I’ll be your pretend boyfriend. They will leave you alone and I won’t feel like a total loser being on my own.”

“My boyfriend?” Jen smirked and Jason nodded, a bright smile pressed in over his lips. “I’ve never talked about having a boyfriend. I’m sure it would be obvious that we were faking it. I would have no problems bringing you as my friend, but…”

“Why not? Not everything is your family’s business, right?” Jason muttered with a simple shrug. “I mean, they give you a hard time as it is, why would you want to tell them that you were dating someone when they have given you nothing, but a hard time in life?”

“Trust me Jason, if I was dating someone like you, I would be talking about it. You are so good looking and I’m just…not,” Jen explained and Jason let out a disgusted sound before rolling his eyes. “My family would know Jason. They would know that it’s not real.”

“When you talk about yourself like that, no one would believe shit. You are right,” Jason snorted with a disgusted sound echoing in his tone. “You are a beautiful girl, you sell yourself short. I’m not a great prize Jen. If I was, I wouldn’t still be single.”

“That’s because you are hooking up with women that don’t see how amazing you really are,” she pointed out and Jason shrugged his shoulders. Jen reached for her cup for the first time to take a sip of her hot cholate while she thought things over. It would be nice to come home with Jason and have her family eat their words. Her family never thought that she would be able to get a man and Jason was one hell of a man. He was charming, good looking and just over all amazing. “Are you sure you would want to do something like that? I don’t want to force you into anything.”

“Jen, it was my idea,” Jason reminded her and she shrugged her shoulders. Jason tapped his fingers over the top of the table and thought about his offer. “I enjoy your company; I wouldn’t have a hard time faking that. I want to help you avoid the wrath of your family. You deserve better than that. No one should judge you based off whether you are dating someone or not, but if I can take the pressure off, I offer my services. For free…of course.”

“Well if you are certain that you are okay with it, I would love to have you join me,” she answered with a bright smile, holding the warm cup in her hands to try and get the overwhelming chill to leave her body. “I will warn you that my family can be a bit much. They are always making snide and rude comments. I’m sure they will have no problems offending you at every chance they get and…”

“I’m a private investigator. My job is pretty much pissing people off and getting people saying nasty things to me every chance they get. I think I can handle your family,” Jason winked, reaching out to squeeze his fingertips around Jen’s wrist softly in a supportive manner. “So when do we leave?”

* * *

 

“Alright, so here we are,” Jason pulled up in front of Jen’s childhood home and she could feel her pulse jumping in her neck. There was always an overwhelming sense of doom and fear that would overtake her when she saw her family again. It was never a good experience and it always ended with her feeling stressed and completely overwhelmed with the way her family treated her. Clearly there was a look of fear over her features and Jason reached out to caress over the side of her face with his fingertips. “Hey, do they really scare you that much?”

“Yeah, I know it’s pathetic,” she felt Jason’s fingertips reaching out to brush her auburn colored hair away from her eyes and she sighed. The gesture was so sweet and she knew that Jason was just an amazing man and a good friend. Part of her felt something more for him other than friendship. She was always attracted to him from the very moment their friendship began, but she never thought there would ever be a chance something more would come from their relationship. When he offered to do this for her, a part of her fell for him harder. It was going to be hard not to be attached to him by the end of this trip with him pretending to be her boyfriend. “They are just…mean.”

“Well, you’re my friend. I’ve listened to you and we’ve got this. You aren’t facing them alone this time Jen. I’m here with you and I’m going to make sure that I’ve got your back, every step of the way. I promise,” Jason winked and playfully nudged her jaw with his fingertips. When Jason got out of the car to grab the things from the trunk, Jen wanted to move, but her body was frozen. Maybe it was the fear of her family, but she just didn’t know if she was ready for this yet. After a few moments, she felt her door being opened and looked to see Jason leaning down to smile down at her. “Come on hun, we’ve got this. You’ve got this. No fear, we are a happy couple and we’re spending Christmas together. Let’s take on these assholes and just enjoy our holiday together.”

“Alright,” she sighed reaching out for Jason’s hand when he extended it out to her. A smile pressed in over the corners of her lips as Jason pulled her in close for a long hug. The warmth of him surrounded her and it felt nice in comparison to the freezing cold, winter air that was all around them. “Thank you for all of this Jason. I don’t know what I’ll do to make this up to you.”

“Let’s just make it through this weekend first, okay?” Jason winked, looking down at Jen with his bright smile. The very sight of that smile alone could warm her to her very core. Jason was perfect in almost every way imaginable. When Jason finally let her go, she went to grab her bags and Jason quickly moved forward to grab all of them. “What kind of boyfriend would I be if I let you lug around all of your stuff? I got this!”

Nodding, Jen walked up toward the door with Jason not far behind her. Before they even got to the steps of her parent’s home, the front door pulled open and Jen watched her mother step outside onto the porch.

“Jen! How lovely to see you,” Jen’s mother excitedly said, reaching out to wrap her arms tightly around Jen’s body. The hug was extremely strong and it felt like Jen’s mother was crushing Jen with her strength. Well this was odd and very untypical of her mother. Jen’s mother would often be the first person to pull away from Jen and be very cold. This massive hug was so unlike her mother that it blew her away. “And my goodness, this must be Jason!”

“In the flesh,” Jason replied in a bright, friendly tone as he stepped up the stairs. When Jason made it up the steps, Jen felt her mother almost shoving her aside to get a look at Jason. Jason set down the bags and reached out to extend his hand out to Jen’s mother. “Jason Crouse, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“My word, look at you. Are you sure that you are my daughter’s boyfriend? I mean, look at that face of yours,” Jen’s mother began with a big, bright smile and slowly Jason’s smile faded. Jen let out an embarrassed sound, lowering her head into her hand when her mother made the comment she did. Jen had even said herself that she didn’t think that she was good looking enough for Jason and her mother just about did the same thing. “I’m so blown away that Jen didn’t tell us about you. You are so gorgeous.”

“Well, thank you, but I think your daughter and I make quite a good pair,” Jason moved over toward Jen to wrap his arm around her shoulders in a supportive manner. Jason pulled her in closer and pressed a small, sweet kiss over her temple. “We’re kind of private people with my job and I like to keep it that way sometimes. So if she didn’t talk about me, it was my wishes. I like to keep my private life, private.”

“Well hopefully you will be able to get over that sweetheart. The whole family is eager to get to know you just a little better,” Jen’s mother winked at Jason and Jason sighed heavily. “How about we’ll get you settled in your room and then the two of you can come down and have some lunch with us before we head out for the festival tonight?”

“Sounds good,” Jen finally spoke up and could see her mother urging them to follow her into the house.

“My name is Kate by the way,” Jen’s mother led them up the stairs toward Jen’s old room when she was a child. When the door pushed open, Jen could feel her cheeks blushing over when some of her old items were still in the room from her childhood. “We figured it was only appropriate to let the two of you stay in here since it was Jen’s room to begin with.”

“I appreciate that. Let us unpack and then we will be down in a few,” Jason stated with a smile, rubbing his hands together. Kate smiled and it looked like she was having a hard time taking her eyes off of Jason. The length at which she still stood in the room made things uncomfortable when Jen cleared her throat uneasily.

“Oh, right. Well, you two can get settled in,” Kate stepped back slowly and almost ran into the wall while she stared out at Jason. When she got to the door, she flashed another large smile before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

“Wow,” Jason laughed after waiting a minute or so, turning back his attention toward Jen who fell back on the bed dramatically. Jason set the bags in the corner of the room before walking toward the bookshelf to look at some of the photos of Jen from when she was younger. “Your mom was totally over the top fake and totally rude to you there.”

“I told you they don’t like me much here, but mom sure thought you were good looking,” she looked up to see Jason grabbing a hold of one of the photos, smiling down at it. A snort escaped his lips when she felt her cheeks blushing over at the idea of him looking at young photos of her. “I had baby fat on me…”

“I think it’s cute,” Jason insisted, looking over at Jen with a gorgeous smile. He reached up to caress over the side of his stubble covered jaw before setting the photo back down on the shelf. “So what are we going to tell them about us?”

“Be honest about everything when it comes to our relationship,” she answered, slowly sitting up on the bed and Jason moved over to sit beside her. “Just not about the part where we…”

“Mhmmm,” Jason cut Jen off and he reached out to wrap his arm around her shoulders to pull her close to him. “We’ve got this. I promise.”

* * *

 

“So you’re saying you met through work when her boss decided to hire you on for a case?” John, Jen’s father grilled Jason further for details. Jason took a bite of his sandwich before nodding slowly. “And what, you just decided that she was the love of your life?”

“We decided that we enjoyed each other’s company while we were working together and we didn’t want our relationship to end there,” Jason muttered with a simple shrug, answering Jen’s father’s questions. “We were able to help each other in a lot of ways.”

“Jason is an amazing person,” Jen put in, shifting in her seat beside Jason at the table. Jason’s smile expanded over his features as he reached out to caress his thumb in over the back of her hand before tangling his fingers with hers. “When he cares about someone, he cares a lot. He’s just the most amazing man I’ve ever met…”

“And you…are the most amazing woman that I have ever met,” Jason hummed, leaning in to press a small kiss against Jen’s cheek. It undoubtedly caused a blush to press in over her face and Jason let the kiss linger before he pressed another small peck against her cheek. Jen’s eyes met her sister’s at the other end of the table and she let out a hesitant laugh.

“We just really enjoy each other’s company,” Jen spoke up again and looked to Jason who reached for his sandwich to take another bite.

“And of all the women in Chicago, you decided to pick my sister?” Angela, Jen’s older sister muttered and Jason’s brow line creased when he looked in her direction. Angela tossed her dark hair over her shoulder and shook her head. “I’m just saying…Chicago is a big place.”

“Your sister is different than most women I’ve met. She’s open, she doesn’t play games. She’s beautiful and she doesn’t even know it,” Jason insisted and Jen could feel the blushing growing throughout her face. Jason was saying the sweetest things about her and she wasn’t even sure she could have made all this awesome material up on her own. “Jen just glows any time she walks into a room. I could be having the worst day in the world, yet when she walks into the room, I smile. She causes me to smile and on some of the toughest days of my life, her being there to remind me that I always had someone to count on…saved me. Jen has always been there to keep me level headed and I don’t know what I’d do without her.”

“Wow, for such a new relationship…the two of you sure sound close,” Angela retorted with a suspicious tone in her voice.

“Well, when you know you love someone. You just know,” Jason answered, looking between Angela and her husband that was quietly sitting at the table. Angela’s husband had barely said a word. “You should understand that, right? Like how I’m sure it was when you met Greg?”

“Enough about that,” Kate spoke up, reaching out to squeeze over Jason’s shoulder from where she sat at the end of the table. “Tell us more about you; you seem like such an interesting person Jason. You’re a private investigator that used to be a lawyer, but let’s hear the juicier stuff. Tell us what’s in the deeper parts of Jason.”

“A stomach full of food,” Jason joked, reaching with his free hand that wasn’t holding onto Jen’s to rub at the center of his stomach. Jen’s family snickered at his over the top, silly answer, but it was clear Jen’s mom wanted more information about Jason. “There isn’t much to me Kate. What you see is what you get.”

“And with that…shouldn’t we be getting to the festival soon?” Jen suggested and watched her father stand from the kitchen table to gather the plates that were spread out over the table.

“Yes we should,” Kate stammered, looking between Jason and Jen with a bright smile. “Your cousins were running late, so they are going to meet us at the festival and then they are going to come back afterwards to stay with us for Christmas Eve and Christmas.”

“Fantastic,” Jen sighed heavily, knowing that this was hard enough with her immediate family and knew that dealing with the extended family would make things doubly as hard. She hoped that with her cousins and possibly some of her aunts and uncles that her and Jason would still be able to pull this off after all.

* * *

 

“I see what you meant by overwhelming,” Jason clung to the coffee in his hand while he kept his arm firmly around Jen. The cool air surrounded the two of them while they walked around some of the events that were taking place at the festival. Darkness had filled night sky, causing the temperature to drop. Jason was bundled up as well with a leather jacket over his body and a beanie on top of his head. “It reminds me of those movies where people live in small towns and everyone knows everything. That’s pretty much what this feels like.”

“That’s why I was nervous to bring you here. I enjoy our friendship as it is, but I know someone will say something stupid to make me look like an unappealing friend,” Jen mumbled under her breath, hiding her displeasure behind a fake smile. The two of them stopped at someone doing an ice sculpture and Jason watched closely, clearly enamored with the work they were doing.

“If anything, I see why you got the fuck out,” Jason responded, pulling Jen in closer to his body and it felt nice to have someone so warm holding her close. She was freezing and while the festival her town did was beautiful, she never really liked coming. Jen was never much of a fan of being out in the snow or being surrounded by the nosey people that needed to know everything. “I mean, it’s gorgeous, but the people…I can see why it would drive you nuts.”

“Well I’m glad it’s not driving you away from me,” Jen felt both of Jason’s arms wrapping around her while still being careful enough not to spill his coffee. Jen cuddled her head up against Jason’s chest and felt his chin nestling against the top of her head. She knew that this was all something to put on a show for her family that was there, but she found herself enjoying it more than she probably should have. “Did anyone ever tell you that you give the best hugs?”

“Oh, I could have told you that a long time ago sweetheart,” Jason teased, a small snort falling from his lips when he laughed. The little things and quirks that Jason had were so ridiculously adorable that she found her liking for him growing more and more. “Tell me, how do you feel about ice skating?”

“I don’t really feel anything about it,” she answered with a snicker, lifting her head to meet his hazel eyes. Jason squeezed her in his arms still and looked over at the rink that was set up in the middle of the town. “I was always afraid of falling on my ass, so I never did it.”

“Well lucky for you, you have someone that’s pretty damn good at skating and he would do a great job keeping you up,” Jason wiggled his brow with the suggestion that they should go ice skating together. “It will give us time to ourselves and we can have some fun.”

“Oh, it will not be fun trying to catch me every two steps Jason. I am not good at that,” she blushed, looking to all of those that were already out there skating. “I’m a mess, plus…you have your coffee and you…”

“Ah, I’m almost done,” Jason took his coffee and finished off the rest of what was left before stepping away to toss it in the trash. Jason reached out to grab a hold of Jen’s hands in his and tugged her toward the rentals for skates. “Come on sweetheart, let’s be adventurous together. Plus if you fall, you get more of those great hugs that you say I give.”

“Jason, I just don’t think…” Jen went to say no again, until Jason stopped her and frowned. His eyes fluttered out at her and she felt her heart sinking at the pout he was giving her. Reaching out, she swatted him softly in the middle of his chest and heard his laugh fill the air when he broke the sad expression he was giving her. “My God, that was awful. Don’t do that to me again.”

“So it’s a yes then?” Jason boasted and she nodded, following him over to the rentals.

“I can’t believe how devious you are. That look broke my damn heart and I know you were faking it,” she pressed her hand in over the center of her chest and Jason’s fingers hooked with hers while they waited their turn to get skates. “You are good.”

“Well, being a lawyer previously helped with the acting,” Jason squeezed his hands tightly around hers and when they got their skates, Jason led her to a bench to help her lace the skates up. The idea of doing this really sent a rush of fear throughout Jen. She didn’t want to be doing this, she was terrified to be doing this, but since it was what Jason wanted, she felt strangely comfortable at the same time. “This may be a bit tight, but we don’t want you hurting yourself.”

Jason was knelt before Jen, helping her finish up with her skates before helping her up and toward the ice. When they got up on the ice, Jen immediately locked up and Jason laughed, wrapping his arms around her tightly.

“Babe, if you get as solid as a board, you are for sure going to fall on your face,” Jason snickered against the side of her neck when he nestled his nose up against her skin. Jen knew that it was Jason just being friendly, but how he was holding onto her and the way that his body warmth was up against hers was driving her nuts. “You have to loosen up. Trust me. I won’t let you fall if you hold onto my hand and just try to work with me.”

“Yeah, yeah…” she panted uneasily following the movements of Jason as Jason led her out toward the ice and helped her skate with him. Out of the corner of her eye she could see her family at the edge of the rink watching the two of them and it made her twice as nervous.

“Ignore them. Pretend I’m the only person here,” Jason urged, turning to face Jen as he held onto her hands and skated backwards. Jen let out a tense breath and knew that she was never capable of that in the past. Her family was a consistent bother that was always there to make her feel bad, but focusing on Jason was the best possible distraction that she could think of to begin with. “Just move your feet, follow me and I’ve got you…”

Jen watched Jason let go of her hand for a moment to turn back to skating normal before grabbing her hand again in his, “See…you didn’t fall on your face there.”

“That was luck,” she nervously stammered and Jason continued to skate with her and soon enough she began to feel more comfortable with how things were going. “I don’t know what I would have done without you so far. Probably been lectured and…”

“Eh, let’s not think about that. I’m here and you are with me. Who cares about them?” Jason winked as they continued to skate. It felt like time was going by so fast, but they spent quite some time out on the ice together. To the point of where it was pretty much just the two of them and a few kids. A gasp fell from Jen’s lips when she felt her body trip and felt Jason catching her in his strong arms. A laugh fell from Jason’s lips as he held her close. “See, I told you I’d be here to catch you when you fall.”

“You are so amazing…” Jen stated with a happy smile, reaching up to press her gloved hand over the side of Jason’s face to trace over his masculine features. Jason’s dimples sucked in and she could feel Jason pressing in closer to her. The warmth of his breath was pressing in over hers and in that second she could hear her family calling out to her.

“Are you two almost done? We’re freezing our asses off here,” Angela screamed out and an angered groan fell from Jen’s lips when Jason pulled back to look up at her sister at the side of the rink. Jen was so disappointed because she felt like with Jason’s closeness that something was going to happen, but maybe it was just wishful thinking. Jason sighed heavily and pulled her close to him to help her leave the ice. “You two were very sociable today, weren’t you?”

“I’m new, I just wanted her to show me around,” Jason pointed out with a half wink, urging Jen toward the skate rentals and it was obvious that Angela was upsetting Jen. “She’s just jealous, don’t let it bother you.”

“How do you handle everything so calmly?” Jen pondered the thought and Jason shrugged his shoulders. “These people can set me off completely and…”

“I decided a long time ago that nothing was worth getting super upset over. Unless absolutely need be, but that is only in desperate measures. So I take things with a grain of salt if you want me to honest,” Jason answered, helping Jen get her shoes back on after getting the skates off. “You stay here…I’ll return these.”

“Thank you,” Jen smirked from where she was seated at the bench and after Jason stepped away, she heard the sound of someone dropping down beside her and a heavy breath fell from her lips. “Angela…”

“You and Jason sure are the perfect couple, aren’t you?” Angela pushed further and off in the distance, Jen could see her mother approaching Jason to talk to him about something. “I’m still not buying it. I know you, you would have told everyone if that was your boyfriend. My only question is how did you get him to do this for you? Did you pay him?”

“You…are such an asshole,” Jen blurt out, looking at her sister and she tried to stay quite. She didn’t want to alert Jason to the fact that she was getting upset. “Is it really so hard to believe that I actually found love with someone?”

“Someone that looks like that?” Angela laughed and it made Jen burn up inside to the core. She wanted to erupt on her sister and explode about all the things her family had done to upset her in the past, but she was trying to take Jason’s advice. “He’s hotter than Greg and he’s perfect. Two things that…”

“I don’t have time for this,” Jen stood from the bench and left her sister to walk over to Jason to wrap her arms around him. When Jason felt her close to him, he wrapped his arms around her tightly and continued to talk to her mother about what seemed to be his family. Jen knew that Jason wasn’t really her boyfriend, but the idea that her family didn’t think she was good enough for Jason absolutely upset her beyond belief and it was starting to really get to her.

* * *

 

“I’m telling you Jen,” Jason called out from the bathroom with the door partially opened while steam escaped the bathroom after his shower. “It’s a jealousy thing. You need to stop letting these people control your life. They aren’t worth it.”

“It’s easy to say that when you haven’t been with them your whole life and they were…” Jen watched the door open and she saw a very wet Jason walking out in the bathroom wearing only a white towel while his toothbrush hung from his lips. A heavy breath caught in her throat and she could feel her mouth going dry just at the sight of him. Jason was pushing around in the bag to try and find something as she eyed him over and realized if he saw her, he would realize that she was checking him out. Clearing her throat uneasily, she clung to the robe that was around her body and tried to speak up again. “They’ve been telling me since I was a kid that I wasn’t good enough. That things weren’t…”

“Well I think you are good enough,” Jason slurred with the toothbrush in his mouth. When he found what he wanted, he turned to look at Jen to see her staring out at him with her big, hazel eyes. Jason looked down when he saw her eyeing him over and he threw his hands up. “You are okay with this, right?”

“Very much,” she nodded and looked down toward her phone that was in her hand to avoid looking like a creeper. When Jason was looking at something else, she lifted her gaze to look over his wet torso to take in the sights. The wet hairs that clung to his chest and torso outlined his toned body perfectly and she couldn’t help, but stare at the top of his towel to notice the perfect lines that were over his hips. “I just wish I had one of those families that would be sweet and represent what family should be about.”

“There are no perfect families and if there are visually, behind closed doors there is some serious shit going on,” Jason suggested, pulling the toothbrush from his mouth. He motioned her to wait a minute and walked back into the bathroom to spit out the toothpaste that was in his mouth. Jason set his toothbrush down and reached for the door to close it slightly. The sound of the towel dropping was heard and she eyed over the door before seeing Jason walk out with a pair of black pajama pants covering his body. He still remained very much shirtless as he brushed his fingers into his wet hair. “We’ve got three more days. We’re going to do fine. I think we’ve done great thus far.”

“My sister seems to think not,” Jen answered with a heavy sigh, watching Jason get things ready for bed. “You can have the bed tonight if you want, I can lie on the ground.”

“We’re adults Jen, we can share the bed. I’m not that much of a bed hog,” Jason snickered, his nose wrinkling up when he smiled. “As long as you don’t mind my ass in bed with you, I don’t mind. Plus, it would be a little weird if your family came up to see your asshole boyfriend in bed making you sleep on the floor.”

“As long as you are okay with sharing the bed with me,” Jen stuttered, feeling her heart beat quicken inside of her chest. The idea of spending all night in bed with Jason sounded amazing. The bed wasn’t that big as it was, so it was a nice idea in her mind that she would be spending so much time so close to him. Jen got more comfortable in the bed before feeling Jason getting in bed behind her. Jason reached across her and Jen let out a tight breath at the closeness of his naked torso over her. When Jason turned off the light and settled back down beside her, Jen tried to calm her breathing. “Thank you so much for everything Jason. You have no idea how much I enjoy having you here.”

“I’ve had a nice time here with you,” Jason informed her with a smile that she could see beyond the darkness that surrounded them. After a few minutes she could hear Jason’s breathing heavy and felt his arm loosely wrapping around her. A breath caught in her throat as she got comfortable and cuddled back into the warmth of Jason. If anything, this was going to be one hell of a sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason and Jen spend more time together getting closer with one another. Jen's family tries to learn how well Jason really knows Jen and the outcome impresses Jen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is part two of the story for my friend. It was meant to be put up on Christmas, but I ran a little behind! Hope you enjoy it!

A displeased sound fell from Jen’s lips when she felt the cool bed beside her upon waking up and looked over her shoulder to see that Jason wasn’t in bed with her anymore. A gasp fell from her lips as she got up from the bed and wondered what time it was. Reaching for her phone, she saw that it was almost afternoon and she let out a shocked sound. Getting up from the bed, she quickly got dressed and moved out of the room. The idea of what her family could have been putting Jason through entered her mind and she panicked.

When she quickly moved down the stairs, she could hear Jason’s thick voice answering a slew of questions and she stopped when she got to the bottom of the stairs to see Jason sitting with her mother and sister by the fireplace. Jason was sitting in one of the chairs holding a mug in his hand and when he noticed her on the stairs, he smiled happily.

“Good morning gorgeous! I hope you didn’t mind that I let you sleep in since you are always up so early with work,” Jason winked and Jen slowly moved from the stairs and toward Jason who set the mug down. When she approached Jason, she felt him hooking his arm around her hips to pull her in over his lap and a small gasp escaped her lips. She didn’t want to come off too shocked or worried when she saw Jason with her family. If she gave that away, it would make things too obvious that they weren’t actually dating. Jason tipped up to press a small kiss against her cheek and she leaned into his touch. “Here…this is hot chocolate and you like this way more than I do.”

“Are you sure?” Jen watched Jason reach for the mug to give her and he nodded. She took a sip of the hot chocolate before handing it to Jason to let him have a sip of it. Jason handed it back to her before nodding toward her family. “So what’s going on?”

“Your mother and sister decided to give me a fifty question survey about you this morning,” Jason answered with a half-smile and Jen could feel her heart skip a beat. “I think they assume I’m a bad boyfriend and want to see what I know about you. As far as I’m aware, I’m not doing bad thus far, right?”

“I’d say he’s doing good,” Kate answered from where she was sitting on the floor by the fireplace and Angela shifted on the couch that was across from Jason and Jen.

“What’s her favorite food?” Angela muttered and Jen rolled her eyes at the idea of them asking him so many questions.

“Pizza,” Jason shrugged his shoulders and looked to Jen when she looked over her shoulder at Jason to smile. “It’s the first date that we went on. To a pizza place in the middle of the city…I don’t think she thought it was a date though. I asked her out and she thought I was asking her to meet me there so we could work on the case together. I thought it was so cute that I couldn’t correct her on it.”

“What?” Jen’s brow arched and Jason nodded, a wide smile pressing in over his handsome features. “Are you kidding?”

“No,” Jason laughed and shook his head, his hazel eyes watching her closely as she shifted in his lap and looked back at him. “I asked you out to any place you liked and you just assumed I was asking you to help me with the job, so I let you run with it. You had already prepared so much; I just assumed I should let you run with it.”

“So…” she gave Jason a shifty look and didn’t know if that was a real statement or if he was just making that up for her family.

“Jen has always wanted a certain kind of dog, what is it?” Angela interrupted the two of them and Jason’s brows arched as he turned his attention back to Jen’s sister.

“Angela, would you stop with this whole thing?” Jen begged of her sister and Jason sighed heavily against the side of her neck. It caused a shudder to fill her body and she felt Jason adjusting her over his lap when he moved in the chair.

“An English Bulldog. We’ve had long discussions about this,” Jason got the answer correct and even Jen found herself shocked with the way that Jason answered so quickly. She didn’t expect him to listen to her every time she rambled on about something.

“And what does she like to do the most on a cold day like this where it is snowing?” Angela almost sounded like she was going to trick him and Jason simply reached for the mug that was still in Jen’s hand to take a sip of the hot chocolate.

“Me,” Jason answered and Jen’s eyes widened when she looked to Jason with a shocked expression. “Well…would you rather me lie?”

“Oh my,” Kate muttered from where she was seated on the floor and Jen could feel a rush of warmth pressing in over her cheeks. Jen couldn’t believe that Jason had just said that in front of her mother and sister, but found herself more so amused with the answer. Jason’s dimples sucked in and he shrugged.

“Would you like details? Because I can tell you about the first time we…” Jason started to ramble and Jen’s hand slid firmly in over his lips to silence him. A hesitant laugh fell from Jen’s lips when she looked to her mother and shrugged. Angela’s eyes were wide with the answer and Jen was thankful that Jason finally had come up with a way to shut her sister up.

“So what are the plans for today?” Jen changed the subject, looking to her mother that still seemed a bit shocked with Jason’s answer.

“Well your dad went to go get pick up your aunt and uncle from the airport. Your cousins are downtown to get a better look at the ice sculptures and we were going to be having that family party that we often do tonight,” Jen’s mom answered before looking to Jason with a half-smile. “Would either of you like some sugar cookies? They are freshly made and I could get you some coffee.”

Jason’s eyes looked to Jen so she would remove her hand and a smile pressed in over his lips when she did, “I would love some…”

“How about you come and help me?” Jen’s mom suggested to Jen and she stood up, feeling Jason’s palm softly smacking over her bottom making a gasp fall from her lips.

“Jason,” Jen blushed and Jason shrugged his shoulders before looking down toward his lap with a small smirk. Jen shook her head and knew that what just happened would definitely have her sister gossiping at the party tonight, but for once she didn’t care. This wasn’t turning out to be such a bad day after all.

* * *

 

“Oh my,” Jason took a sip of the eggnog that Jen handed him when she moved back into the living room where he was seated on the edge of the couch. Jason shook it off and looked down at the cup of what she had brought him. “Is your family full of alcoholics because…damn!”

“I think they like to get buzzed and forget that we are all super miserable and hate each other,” Jen tried to answer quiet enough so that the rest of her family didn’t hear them. The kitchen and the living room were packed with her family and some of her parent’s close friends from the town. Jason took another sip of the eggnog and cleared his throat.

“I’m glad I’m not driving home tonight,” Jason snickered and Jen reached out to brush her fingertips into Jason’s dark hair. Jason looked up at her with a sexy smile and Jen adjusted his glasses over his face for him. “What?”

“I was just thinking about what you said earlier,” Jen explained, thinking about the story that Jason told her family with him asking her on a date, but her not thinking of it as a date. “Was that a real story about you asking me out or…?”

“And if I told you I was serious…” Jason’s brow arched in curiosity, trying to read her eyes in that moment. “Would you think I was lying to you?”

“Well, yeah. Have you looked at me in comparison? You are completely out of my league,” Jen answered and Jason’s eyes rolled at her response. A disgusted sound fell from his lips as he lifted his cup up to take another sip of the eggnog. Jen took a look around to see that her family was watching them closely while Jason looked up at her again. “You’re gorgeous Jason. Even my family thinks I’m not good enough for you.”

“To answer your question, yeah…I was serious. I enjoyed spending time with you, a lot, but when you came in prepared only to do work, I didn’t have the heart to tell you because I assumed you were either taken or you weren’t interested,” Jason answered, clearing his throat before downing the rest of the drink that was in his hand. “Then all the stuff with Alicia happened and…”

“Jason,” Jen gasped, watching him almost fall from the couch before holding his hand up to stop her from worrying. “You okay?”

“I think I need another drink,” Jason slurred, nodding toward the eggnog. “I’ll be right back…”

Jen nodded and felt someone come up behind her when Jason left, shocking her. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that it was her younger cousin David behind her. It was one of her family members that always hackled her the most about being single most of her life.

“So how long have you and your new guy been together?” David tried to get further details on the relationship with Jason. “Should we be expecting a wedding soon or…?”

“Oh, piss off,” Jen sighed with a laugh, looking to see Jason moving back with his glass refilled before Jen’s aunt stopped him a few feet before returning to her. “Our relationship is still very much young…”

“And spicy according to your sister. I think she’s pissed that you got someone hotter than she did,” David almost sounded like he was complimenting her on Jason. He clapped his hands softly together before nudging Jen with his elbow. “She still doubts that’s your man, but I can see the way you look at him. There is something there in the way he looks at you too.”

“Oh yeah? Are you the love guru now?” Jen teased her cousin and David shrugged his shoulders, nodding back to Jason who was laughing with her aunt. “The family seems to like him.”

“Everyone likes him. He’s a smart ass nice guy, a weird combo, but a nice change to the norm,” David insisted with a heavy sigh, looking to Jen with a pleased expression. “You know you’ve done really well when you piss Angela off so well.”

“Thanks…I think,” Jen bit down on her bottom lip and looked toward Jason. “Now if you will excuse me, I think I need to save my boyfriend from your mom.”

“Good idea,” David winked watching Jen moved toward Jason to grab a tight hold of his arm.

“I need to steal him for a moment,” Jen answered and felt Jason stepping back closer to her. “We’ll be back.”

“What’s up?” Jason stammered as Jen pulled him toward an area with less people which was near the opening to the kitchen. “You okay?”

“Are you serious? That you really were interested at one point?” Jen questioned with a bit of nervousness in her tone. She wasn’t usually so forward about things and Jason’s eyes watched her closely as she shifted on her feet nervously before him. It wasn’t like her to be so bold, but she was desperate to know the truth.

“Jen, I’m still very much interested,” Jason answered with a crooked smile and he shrugged his shoulders. Jason’s answer shocked her. Most of the time she just thought he was super touchy because he was just an overall nice guy, but if what he was saying was true… “We’re friends though and when you bring something like that into play, then…”

“I’m just letting you know…” Jen’s mother stepped forward to grab a hold of Jen’s arm and Jason abruptly stopped talking to make sure that her mother didn’t hear their conversation. Jason finished off his drink and set the cup aside before leaning back against the doorframe. “You two are having a full blown conversation under the mistletoe and you know what you are supposed to be doing when you’re under that…”

“Mom…” Jen went to hush her mother, but felt Jason’s rough palms reaching out to grab a hold of her face to pull her closer to him. Jason tipped down and his lips brushed in over hers causing all of her tension and fears to slip away while the warmth of him pressed in over her. Tipping up on her toes, she found herself leaning into the caress his rough thumb made over her jaw and could taste the lingering of the eggnog that was still against his mouth. When Jason pulled away, he licked his lips and then softly dragged his thumb over Jen’s bottom lip.

“We had to keep up with tradition,” Jason winked, tipping in to press another soft kiss over Jen’s lips again, this one much smaller and more of a peck, but it warmed Jen right to the core. Jason saw one of Jen’s family members waving him down and he smirked. “Please excuse me for a moment ladies.”

“Sure,” Kate responded, skipping forward to squeeze her hands over her daughter’s shoulders. “Wow Jen, you really landed yourself a winner.”

“Yeah,” Jen reached up to touch her lips, still feeling the aftershocks of Jason’s kiss pressing in over her. “I guess I did.”

* * *

 

“You’ve been pretty quiet since earlier,” Jason called out from where he was seated on the bed, staring out at Jen as she got ready for bed after the party. Jason licked his lips uneasily watching her shrug and Jason got up from the bed. Jason stepped in behind her and rest his hands over her hips in a tender manner. “Are you upset with me for all of this?”

“How could I be upset with you? I just don’t understand how someone like you could be interested in someone like me,” Jen shrugged and Jason wrapped his arms around her tightly from behind. Jason tipped down to start peppering small kisses over the side of her neck and her head tilted to the side opening herself up to his kisses. “Jason…”

“I’ve always liked all of you, I just never thought you’d be overly interested…” Jason explained and he felt her hands sliding down to squeeze in over his. “I’ve always cared about you and thought you were one of the most amazing women I have ever met.”

“You have been drinking…” Jen reminded Jason feeling his hand sliding up and over her hip toward her abdomen to caress over it slowly. Jen pulled away from Jason and saw the way that his hazel eyes stared out at her with a concerned expression. “I don’t want you regretting things…”

“Would you be regretting things?” Jason muttered and Jen thought about things knowing that the idea of being with Jason sounded perfect, but she knew that he might just be feeling this way because he had drank quite a bit tonight. “Yes?”

“I just am worried this is just a heat of the moment thing,” Jen insisted and Jason gave her a long stare before shrugging his shoulders and moving toward the bedroom. He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside while Jen stood in the bathroom watching him closely. When Jason began to pull apart the belt in his pants, she felt her heart start to skip inside her chest. Her mind was telling her to turn away when Jason started to pull apart his jeans and push them down his legs to clearly get ready for bed. When she got a look at Jason in his black boxer briefs, she could feel her body heating up at the sight of him. Stepping into the bedroom, she reached out to press her hand in over Jason’s back and saw his eyebrow perk up when he looked over his shoulder at her. “Are you sure about this?”

“I am,” Jason nodded, turning toward her and she gulped down heavily. Her body was on fire and she reached out to trace her fingertips over the center of Jason’s chest. Teasing her fingers over the planes of his body, she heard the sigh that escaped his lips and she bit down on her bottom lip. Jason tipped his head back and let out a small hiss when her fingertips teased down the front of his abdomen and toward the top of his boxer briefs. Jen took a bold step forward and pressed small kisses over the side of Jason’s neck to tease over the flesh with her wet lips. “As long as you have no regrets…”

“I wouldn’t…” she answered feeling Jason picking her up in his arms to pull her shorter frame up against his. Jason turned to drop her down on top of the bed before crawling in over her body. Jason’s lips pressed in over hers again and again while he got comfortable in over her. “Jason…”

“Shh…” Jason hushed her worries because he knew those were the thoughts she was most likely having right now. Jason reached up to caress over the side of her face and she leaned into the warmth of his palm. “Everything is going to be okay…I promise.”

* * *

 

The next morning a warmth was surrounding Jen when she woke up and for the first time in a very long time, she woke up happy. Looking over her shoulder, she could see Jason was pressed in behind her. His arm was wrapped around her body and she couldn’t help, but smile when she thought back to last night. It was almost amusing to think about what they had done in her parent’s home and she hoped that they were quiet enough so that her family didn’t know what was going on. Turning in Jason’s arms, she reached up to trace her fingertips over his rough, stubble covered jaw. Jason shifted beneath her touch and soon a smile perked up in over the corners of Jason’s lips.

“Good morning,” Jason breathed out lifting his head up enough to lean in to press a long, lingering kiss over Jen’s lips. “Or should I be saying Merry Christmas?”

“That may have been the best Christmas present I was ever given,” Jen teased against Jason’s lips and he laughed. Nibbling softly over Jason’s bottom lip, she could feel Jason grasping at her body beneath the blankets. “Jason!”

“It’s morning…” Jason lifted the blankets and looked down making her blush again. “Hey, don’t act so shy about it now. You were perfectly fine with Mr. Crouse last night.”

“Mr. Crouse?” Jen rolled her eyes at the naming of certain parts of his body. Jen felt Jason’s mouth over the side of her neck again, nipping at her neck softly and she could feel her body warming up to his touch. “Jason, it’s early and I’m sure everyone will be waking up…”

“Then we better be quiet,” Jason urged her with a wink before reaching for her to pull her up in over his lap. Jason’s palms caressed up and over her hips before biting into his bottom lip. “You think you could do that?”

“Breakfast time…” Jen’s mother’s voice filled the air and Jen let out a yelp, falling off the bed and taking the blankets with her. Jason let out a tight hiss as he reached for the nearest item and it happened to be a fluffy white teddy bear. Jason covered himself with the item and felt a blush pressing in over his cheeks as he reached for his glasses from the nightstand. “Jen, are you alright?”

“Perfect mom,” she got up on her knees at the side of the bed, clinging to the blankets and she looked to Jason who was barely covering himself with her childhood teddy bear. “Mom, could you leave please?”

“Should I be telling the rest of the family that you guys need…some time?” Kate’s eyes centered in over Jason’s lap where he had the teddy bear covering himself and Jen lowered her head to the bed to let out an embarrassed laugh. “You know what…I’ll just…see you soon.”

“I can’t wait,” Jason hesitantly laughed when he heard the door close and he let out a tight groan. “I have no idea what the hell I just told your mother. I pretty much have you teddy bear wrapped around my dick and I feel like a total pervert right now.”

“I am so sorry,” she snickered from the floor and Jason watched her fall back against the floor, bringing the blankets with her. Jason looked over the side of the bed and gave her a strange expression. “I can’t believe that just happened.”

“You are strange, you know that?” Jason informed her with a small laugh before getting up from the bed and still carrying her stuffed bear in front of him. “I’m going to take a very cold shower. Would you like to join me?”

“I’m not sure that’s the best of ideas knowing my family. My mother has a big mouth and then I can just see my entire family coming up here,” Jen pointed out and Jason nodded before taking the stuffed bear and throwing it to her. Jen laughed when she caught it and could see Jason wiggle his brow at her in a suggestive manner before closing the door.

Jen reached for some clothes to pull them on before hearing Jason’s phone vibrating at the side of the bed. Looking to it, she let curiosity get the better of her and looked to see that it was Alicia that was writing him. A flush pressed in over her cheeks as she opened his phone and was surprised that he didn’t have a lock on it.

Looking over the messages, she could see that Alicia had written Jason last night that she missed him. Jason had responded to the text that it was a little too late for that and it made her let out a tight breath. Was this why Jason was downing drinks left and right? Because of the idea of Alicia? Taking a look at the last text, she saw that it was Alicia writing Jason to tell him that she still loved him and being alone at Christmas made her realize it. Setting Jason’s phone back on the nightstand, Jen felt an ache in the center of her chest and quickly got up from the bed. Going downstairs with her family, she stayed quiet and didn’t say much.

“Good morning,” Jason entered the kitchen and when he moved to the breakfast table, she heard a few of her family members snicker and Jason gave them an odd expression. “What’s going on?”

“Sounds like someone had a hard time this morning,” David snickered from the corner of the table and Jen shot her mother a glare who just simply looked down at her food and avoided eye contact. “Hey, who are we to judge? Sounds like the two of you had a better Christmas morning than the rest of us.”

“I’d say it was pretty good,” Jason smirked, reaching for the coffee that was set out for him already. Jason looked to Jen with a bright smile, but when he saw the way that she was looking upset, he frowned. “Everything okay, sweetheart?”

“Yeah, I just need some air for a second,” Jen informed him with a half frown before getting up from the table and leaving. Stepping outside on the front porch, she heard the door opening not long after and saw Jason coming out with her.

“Everything okay?” Jason stammered, reaching out to touch Jen, but she pulled away from him. “Hey? Did I do something?”

“I saw Alicia was texting you last night,” Jen answered honestly and Jason’s smile slowly faded. “With what happened between the two of us, is that why? Because you were upset about Alicia and…”

“No, not even remotely close Jen,” Jason tried to explain, but she was too fired up and upset. “Jen, listen…”

“You were drinking quite a bit and you were clearly upset about something. Then I see the texts on your phone and…” Jen began to ramble and Jason reached out to cup her face in his hands lovingly. “Jason, it’s not just by chance that this happened.”

“Jen, I had feelings for you before I ever met Alicia. I just thought the two of us were not going to go anywhere because I didn’t think I was your type,” Jason tried to plead, but Jen still felt in her heart that this was a decision made on the fact that Alicia’s text upset him. “I don’t care that Alicia wrote me, the moments I’ve been sharing with you the last few days has been some of the best of my life.”

“You are just a very sweet person Jason and you would say anything to make someone feel good about themselves,” Jen pointed out and Jason sighed heavily, clearly getting frustrated that she wasn’t listening to him. “You only came here to try and help me avoid my shitty family so we lied to them and…”

The sound of the door opening was heard and Jen could see a few of her family members standing at the door and clearly they were listening to the fight.

“I knew it,” Angela boasted and Jason let out a long, disgusted sound when he turned away from Jen.

“Would you just shut the hell up? All of you have turned this poor girl into nothing, but a ball of worries because of the way you treat her. Acting like she isn’t good enough to get someone like me. That she isn’t worthy of having someone who looks like me. Or treating her like she is a freak because she has a good job and isn’t married with children,” Jason snapped, watching the way that her family’s eyes began to get wide at his lecture. “I came here with her because I cared for her very deeply and the idea of being alone with all of you terrified her because she knew that she would be leaving upset. I’ve been here to witness the way you guys treat her! Telling her that she isn’t pretty enough. That there is no way that she would ever be good enough for someone like me. Do you know how fucking awful that is? I’m lucky just to have your daughter in my life and getting to spend the time that I have with her has proven to me that the feelings I thought I had for her were one hundred percent real. Jen is an amazing person and I am very much in love with her. So all of you need to get back to your breakfast and leave the two of us be so we can work out what is going on here. If not, I’m just going to go upstairs, grab our shit and leave right now because I know even fighting about what we are right now, we would be able to manage to have a better Christmas on our own than have to put up with a nosy family that thinks they know how everything is meant to be.”

Jen watched as her mother stepped forward and urged everyone away from the door to give the two of them space outside. When Kate shut the door, Jason turned back to Jen and frowned.

“I am sorry I had to talk to your family like that Jen, but…” Jason felt Jen reaching up to hook her hand around the back of his neck to pull him down for a kiss and he reached out to pull her close to his body. Jason kissed her over and over again before pulling his lips away and resting his forehead softly against hers. “I’m not lying to you when I tell you I care for you a lot. I love you Jen and being here has showed me that. I know we’re moving fast and moving fast can be scary, but…you’ve been in my life a long time…and when you know…you just know.”

“What about Alicia?” Jen muttered with a frown and Jason motioned her to wait. Jason stepped back and reached for his phone that was inside of his pants to pull it out. Jason opened up the texts and held up the phone for her to see. Jen looked it over and began to read it out loud. “I’m sorry, but I’ve found someone else. Hope you have a nice Christmas and maybe you should try making your family work. It’s worth it.”

“Does that sound like a text from someone who is still madly in love with Alicia?” Jason inquired and Jen could feel her cheeks blushing over at the fact that she had gotten so upset with Jason over that text from this morning. “No, it doesn’t.”

“I’m sorry Jason,” she frowned and felt Jason cupping her face in his warm, rough hands before pulling her in for another kiss. “For putting you through…all of this.”

“All of this…has been the best Christmas for me in a very long time,” Jason winked, his dimples sucking in when a smile pressed in over his handsome features. Jen felt Jason pulling her in for a tight hug and she rest her head against the center of his chest. “I was just wondering if instead of being the fake boyfriend, maybe you could upgrade me to the real one?”

“I would really love that,” Jen stammered with a happy smile that likely overtook most of her face. “I’d like that a lot.”

“Well then,” Jason began with a laugh, tipping down to kiss her one final time before nodding back toward the house. “We have a Christmas to finish with your family and then maybe later we can celebrate a Christmas of our own.”

“Sounds good,” Jen agreed and felt Jason’s hand slipping into hers to lead her back inside and to the breakfast table. Everyone was staring out at them and Jen could still feel Jason’s hand holding tightly onto hers.

“Everything is okay, right?” Jen’s mother finally broke the silence and Jason smirked when he looked to Jen. “Because we really like Jason…a lot.”

“And we think the two of you are quite good together,” David offered up his opinion, looking around the table to the people that were nodding in agreeance. “Whatever was happening, whatever did happen…”

“We’re fine,” Jen interrupted her family and Jason tipped in to press a quick kiss over Jen’s lips. “In fact, we’re perfect.”  


End file.
